Features of Canada's Party System
Features of Canada's Party System
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M.P.S.E.-9
Canada: Politics and Society
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SECTION I
Q. 3. Analyse the distinctive features of the Party System in Canada.
Ans. There have been several changes in the process of making of party system in Canada. Some of the features of
current party system of the nation are:
Multi-Party System
In spite of not being an equally balanced pattern off interaction, the Canadian party system is marked by heavy
competition, which is in fact is the most important attribute of the Canadian party system. In going by the convention, one
can say that it has been a tradition in Canada that only one the political party would dominate the national politics. The
conservatives were the dominant force in the Canadian political system and monopolized the dominant role until 1896
since the confederation. Often 1921 till today than liberals have been enjoying this dominant position of political power,
at least 80% of the time. This convention has put the suggestion that the fore that the national party system consists of the
normal governments party (the liberals), the normal opposition party (the conservatives), and the Nominal Minor Party
(the NDP). There is hardly a party turnover in government because of this system: instead the important alteration is not
between different parties in office but between majority and minority liberal governments. In Canadian political system
three parties or rather say three major parties have been sharing more than 2/3 entire vote since 1930s, as far as the sharing
of votes are concerned. But still the real competition for the power of politics has been only shared by two major parties
which are liberals and the progressive conservatives. Not even a single party has been able to enter into the competition
between these two parties. And that is why, for this very reason that Canadian political system or the Canadian party
system has been more often described as by a party system, wherein one ruling party dominates. In the year 1993,
however there was a change in this configuration. During this year, due to the breakdown of the coalition formed by
Brian Mulroneys conservative party in 1984, the different parties emerged. Various people with voting rights in the
province of Alberta and British Columbia chose Reform over the Tories, why in the province of Quebec various the
nationalists move moved to the Bloc. Because of this reason there was an adverse effect on the popularity of conservatives
in western Canada and NDP in British Columbia. All these changes in the system put together paved the path for a fiveparty system. The cause of the merger of reform and PC in November 2003, the five-party system has now changed in
two of four-party system.
Political Ideology A Pragmatic Approach
The thing that makes one political party different from another is the ideology of the party, the belief, and the values.
It seems that in Canada the major political parties, namely liberals and progressive conservatives, share the same ideology.
Both of these parties have always aimed for similar goals which are acquiring the power and the spoils of office, and have
been electorally focused since their inception. Because of these reasons, the Canadian parties have often been described
as practical, flexible, and manipulative. When Canadian Prime Minister Pearson decided to accept nuclear weapons on
Canadian soil, he was vigorously attacked by Trudeau, who was an NDP supporter, in 1963. After Trudeau became the
leader of the liberal party in 1968 the practical politics compelled him to indulge himself in a similar sort of behaviour.
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As far as the ideological stamp of these parties are concerned, all these parties have a sort of flexible ideology, as
from the tradition one can say that they do not follow any strict principle and that they are very much willing to change in
order to suit the political requirement of the day. These politicians are not known for their consistency and determination.
If at all, the major political parties have defined their programmes then it is ready by vague. Both of the parties did not
hesitate to steal planks from the others platforms, bold the parties made almost similar promises to the public but failed to
fulfil, both the parties screened at the top of their lungs that day where the most capable team for implementing a common
objective. The behaviour they exhibited, since they first joined the office were almost similar. The number of the terrorists
have levelled the Canadian a political system as a brokerage system based on their observation of the behaviour of the two
major parties in Canada and the way that pick and choose among contending ideological principles to suit their electoral
purposes.
In comparison to the flexible ideologies of liberals and conservatives, the New Democratic Party (NDP), which was
also Canada are stored largest party since 1961 to 1993, has a somewhat more rigid ideology, which contrasts quite
noticeably with the liberals and conservatives. This party favours and advocates the values of liberal democracy, and
holds the view that there should be a vigorous interference in the Canadian Society so that the devils of the capitalist
economic system can be corrected. The new democrats are considered to be more idealistic since for them electro victory
is less important than principles, unlike the two pragmatic parties. Another idealistic party in Canada is the Reform Party
(RP), which was founded in the year 1987. If one where to describe the beliefs of this party then the term conservative
would be the most appropriate. This party aims to put an end to bilingualism, and a wants a reduction in unemployment
and hopes for government that balances its budget and reduces its deficit. Another party in Canada is The Bloc Quebecois,
which is very unusual and unlike any other party in the country. This party does not need to be flexible for it does not want
to govern. Talking in conventional sense this party has and non-aid policies. The only purpose, the only motive this party
has is to achieve independence for Quebec. Considering these qualities, it becomes quite difficult to characterize it as
pragmatic or idealistic. If in future this happens, then it is sure that this party will no longer exist. All the members of this
party in the Federal parliament with obviously move to Quebec and perhaps well start a new party there and go on to help
in running the new government there.
Traditionally speaking the politics and Canada has been off somewhat middle of the road, in other words moderate.
The international extremes of communism and fascism have never been able to enter the main stream political framework
of Canada. As important a fringe elements, they have only touched that outermost surface of Canadian politics. The
reason that that most of the Canadian parties can be considered moderate in views is that these parties do not share either
of the extreme left or right-wing political ideals and therefore can be very comfortably placed near the middle line. The
closest to the center have been the older parties, which are the liberals and the progressive conservatives. These parties
often get strong support from the business community and also have a pro-business outlook. Talking about the differences
between these two parties the conservatives home or to which the right wing why did the same time the liberals are
considered to be more towards the left and also more progressive. The liberals have known this and that is why they have
tended to carve out this section of the spectrum as their own.
It is important that one must understand the specific and text while using this left-right continuum. There are times
when exception behaves like a rule. For example, there was an abrupt and sharp shift to watch the right in the actions and
ideology of the conservative party, after the election of 1984. During that time this party advocated reduction in spending
and reduction in the role of government, which was very similar to the governments of Margaret Thatcher in Britain and
Ronald Regan in United States. There was a cut in government programmes its income corporations such as Air Canada
and Petro Canada where sold or privatized. The forces of new liberalism pushed the liberals to forego various welfare
programmes. A greater reliance on the individual was also implied by this new conservative view. The distinction
between the right and left has been further blurred after the results of the Federal election of 1993, by a new axis of
political conflict, which according to Panebianco labels a distinction between the establishment and the anti-establishment.
But this latter category the reform party belongs.
LeaderOriented Parties
There is no doubt in the fact that the Canadian political parties are very much a leader centric. The leader of the party
usually plays are various important roles in providing the campaign platform, choosing the campaign strategy, and setting
the partys course for the election campaign. The importance of all the role played by a leader of a party in politics in
Canada is actually the consequence or the result of the brokerage system in Canada. If the Canadian political party wants
to succeed in an election, then is very important for that party to have a leader who can inspire confidence, and who mere
name is a programme in itself. According to Siegfried, Canadians attach themselves rather to the concrete, a reality than
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to the abstract principle. They vote as much for the man who symbolizes the policy as they for the policy itself. There
is no doubt that there has been a great change in the nature of leadership since the days of McDonald and Laurier, when
the virtually embodied their respective parties, but even in the contemporary political life the significance has not been
diminished. In todays time there have been revolutionary changes in the way political party campaign, especially because
of the technology and television. In such a situation role of a political party leader becomes very much crucial in determining
the electoral outcomes. Even the newly formed a reformed party, which initially kept the leader in an inconspicuous spot
so that it can attempt a different politics, acknowledged this fact. The reform party, in order to improve its performance in
the House of Commons hired an image consultant during the time of 1997 election. Preston Manning put in a lot of
efforts in order to acquire a completely different image. He acquired a complete new wardrobe and hairstyle, in order to
eliminate the eyeglasses he went through a laser surgery, to reduce his western slang he underwent voice training. The
leaders of the party are mostly selected by the convention of party leadership. There has been a great reduction in the role
of party caucus in this respect. The power of the leader has been enhanced over his or her party caucus the cost of this
election by a national party convention. According to these leaders, the only way to remove them is through such
conventions. When the leader of parties are been selected, the only thing which is kept in mind is that how much can this
person improve or enhance the chances of partys victory in the election. When the members of a party are not satisfied
with the performance of their leader, the leadership review process can be of great help to such members who want to
change their leader.
In recent times, considering the democratization of the parties, the greater focus has been given in making the leaders
of the party more responsive post. A primary style of leadership politics is now being managed by these leaders.
Conciliatory Socio-Economic Base
One of the major reasons for the brokerage character of the political parties in Canada is actually the socio ethnic
character of the Canadian Society and not the choices made by the parties themselves. Many have argued that one of the
most primary tasks of the political leadership in Canada to soothe the anger and anxiety of various social groups like
catholic and protestants, French and English, urban population and farmers, employers and laborers, central Canadians
and those living in the peripheries. After the end of Second World War, all the three parties respondents to the incoming
immigrants. This flood of immigrants after the Second World War was most diverse in ethnic terms, people belonging to
Southern Europe, Asia and Caribbean started to migrate in Canada. This immigration was almost in agreement with the
Canadas stand on multiculturalism. The LP party, among all other parties, was more open towards the flood of new
immigrants. All the parties of the nation was supported by a diverse population, this made each party or each of the major
parties to obfuscate its position on major issues.
Broodie and Jenson argue that political parties are not mere and instrument are an organization to fulfill or to consider
the demands of a variety of social groups, rather they play an important part in shaping the definition of politics, which
exist and social scenario act even point of time. They also decide the manner in which the politics must be conducted and
the nature of the conflicts which can be resolved through the political processes. Broodie and Jenson have considered
and described the LP and CP as bourgeois parties. Many of the major parties and Canada have tried to define politics in
the terms of culture; they have tried to define it as a division between those ethnic and linguistic groups in Canada which
are dominant. The console definition of politics is much more congruent with their organizational interests than a definition
based on class, as both the parties to draw there electrodes support from broadly similar coalitions or classes. It has been
a nature of bourgeois parties to seek to recast the debate in a more familiar and comfortable languages of regional and
cultural differences, whenever there have been issues based on class conflicts in the political scenario of Canada. The
NDP party, which was usually considered as a class based party, has shown its readiness to accept the prevailing definition
of politics and also it seems that this party wants to compete with the bourgeois parties on their own terms. The political
discourse of religion, regionalism, and biculturalism has been manipulated by this tendency of the parties in order to
prevent the emergence of the class based definition of politics. In Canada the political parties have regional, ethnic, and
territorial characteristics, which is very different from the political parties of Europe, wherein the politics of house had
gradually displaced these divisive bases of the parties.
Partisan Turbulence
Discipline is one good characteristic of Canadian parties. Usually at a time of voting in parliament or provincial
legislatures and members of the party follow the party line. During party conventions, the members of the party get
enough opportunity to express their ideas and mind because of the domestic character of parties. They even have the
freedom to review the flourishing performance of their leaders. It is noticeable, that in spite of such the democratic and
free nature of the parties there was a breakdown of the coalition fashion by Brian Mulroneys conservative party in 1984
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and the because of this breakdown the two new major parties emerged. In Alberta and British Columbia a great portions
of the electorate abandoned the Tories, and chose to care for reforms; why at the same time in Quebec the various
nationalists chose to stand alongside the Bloc. The NDP party, which mustered the province of British Columbia in 1998
also had to pay a price and got its hold loosened in British Columbia. One can see the consequence or the effect of the
multiparty system in Canada in the form of party turbulence in the House of Commons. There have been various turbulent
activities and the parliament because of the very idea of multiparty system. The centuries lost session of the parliament
and even the one which happened recently witnessed the MPs of conservative party crossing to both liberal and Reform,
the MPs of NDP chose to be with conservatives and liberals, and the MPs of both the Bloc and reform parties decided to
sit as independents and leave their caucuses. Such a picture of party system in Canada clearly tell us is that the party
system is not only constantly changing but also that it is beset by a malaise of an discipline within the structure of the
system itself. The new demand of the MPs now is to have the right to vote depending on their consciousness. This is
seeking and intriguing characteristics of the party system in Canada have compelled the public of the Canada to leave the
party politics, to turn away from it and choose their representation goals by the means of alternate channels, most notably
the interests groups.
Regionalization of Politics
Fragmentation of Politics
The fact that the number of parties has increased in Canada is accompanied by the fact that choices of people have
increased. More party simply means more options to choose from the. The greater regionalization of party competition
has been produced by the regional character of reform/alliance and the bloc. Now there are different choices for all the
Canadian voters in each of the countrys traditional regions. No more elections possess the capacity to function as
instruments of collective public decision-making. The following new regional contests were shown by in November
2000 poll:
A. Realistic choice between liberals and conservatives was available for the Atlantic Canadians.
B. Quebecers decided to choose between the Bloc and the liberals.
C. Ontarians selected between liberals and the Alliance.
D. The voters in the province of Manitoba and Saskatchewan had an option to choose between alliance and the
liberals.
E. The options of a table for the people in British Columbia were Alliance, liberals and new democrats.
In these various political contests, these parties have been greatly successful. For example, in recent years the LP
party has either become the opposition party in the provinces like Quebec and Ontario, or in the provinces like Alberta
and British Columbia it has been forced, for all the practical reasons, to vanish from the partisan battle, why are the same
time the fact remains that LP is the governing party in Ottawa. The conservatives, who have been in opposition in the
province of Ottawa, have now tasted the success of being the most successful party in the politics of the provinces. Quite
similarly the NDP party has tasted success in provinces like British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba and the same
time has also acquired the position of opposition in the province of Ontario. In Quebec the most dominant party is Parti
Quebecois. One of the consequences and that too immediate consequences is that now parties have a different and
sometimes you rather contradictory strategy for campaigning in different regions of the country which entirely depends
on the structure and the strength of the competition they expect to phrase in that specific constituency. A very obvious
consequence of this regional attitude of the political parties in Canada is that a new path is being paved for the fragmentation
and regionalization of the politics as well. Parties like reform and bloc are quite busy in rejecting the idea of executive the
federalism as a dominant mode of Canadian politics and are constantly engaged in articulating the regional and grievances.
The parties also intend to engage in the fragmented electorate and therefore they are engaging in specialized and segmented
appeals.
Q. 5. What Policy measures have been undertaken by the Canadian Government towards relisation of
Aborginal self-government? Elaborate.
Ans. Towards Self-government: The many projects that drop usually under the rubric of self-government are usually seen as an affordable and affordable move from government restrictions charged on Aboriginal areas and individuals
to a contemporary, community-based self-actualizing way of govternment. This has various lawful significances, with
regards to constitutional, legal and jurisdictional issues: all complex by an almost theological dependency upon a concept
of inherent rights of self-government. This is not to recommend that the concept is wrong: it does not have, however,
particular lawful or even governmental content currently. Recognition of the inherent right of Aboriginal communities to
govern themselves was a feature of the rejected Charlottetown Accord and is a commitment contained in the well-known
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Red Book advanced by the current Liberal government in Ottawa during the 1993 election campaign.
In 1982, a Special Committee of the House of Commons on Indian Self-Government was appointed to review legal
and institutional issues related to the status, development and responsibilities of band governments on reserves. Its 1983
report, known as the Penner Report after Committee chair Keith Penner, recommended that the federal government
recognize First Nations as a distinct order of government within the Canadian federation, and pursue processes leading to
self-government. It proposed constitutional entrenchment of self-government and, in the short-term, the introduction of
legislation to facilitate it.
The Penner Report presented the basis for a significant departure from then current federal policies regarding Indian
bands. The report raised the profile of Aboriginal issues and had a significant impact on the constitutional debate.
The Cree and Naskapi First Nations of northern Quebec were the first Aboriginal groups to negotiate self-government
as part of their land claim agreements (the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement and Northeastern Quebec
Agreement) in 1975 and 1978. Provisions for local government were implemented in 1984 by the Cree-Naskapi (of
Quebec) Act, which replaced the Indian Act for the Cree and Naskapi, and limited the responsibilities of the federal
government in the day-to-day administration of band affairs and lands. All the Cree and Naskapi bands were incorporated
and some of their lands constitute municipalities or villages under the Quebec Cities and Towns Act. Band corporations
have by-law powers similar to those possessed by local governments under provincial legislation.
The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement also provided for a form of government for the Inuit signatories. An
Act concerning Northern villages and the Kativik Regional Government (Kativik Act) established Inuit settlements in
northern Quebec as northern village municipalities under provincial legislation. The Kativik Regional Government has
the powers of a northern village municipality over those parts of the territory that are not part of the village corporations,
and regional powers over the whole territory including the municipalities. The governments are not ethnic in character
all residents, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, may vote, be elected and otherwise participate; however, over 90% of the
population in the area are Inuit and receive benefits under the James Bay Agreement. The federal and Quebec governments
have been negotiating with Makivik Corporation, which represents the Inuit, to further the self-government powers
gained by the Inuit of Northern Quebec under the James Bay Agreement.
Following the failure of the 1987 First Ministers Conference on Aboriginal Rights to produce a self-government
agreement, governments turned their attention to the broader constitutional agenda. In the process, Aboriginal peoples
were excluded from participation in the constitutional negotiations that led to the 1987 Meech Lake Accord. This produced
strong Aboriginal protests that contributed to the Accords defeat in 1990. After much negotiation, the provincial premiers,
territorial government leaders, Aboriginal organizations and the federal government agreed, as part of the 1992
Charlottetown Accord, on amendments to the Constitution Act, 1982 that would have included recognition of the inherent
right of self-government for Aboriginal people. For the first time, Aboriginal organizations had been full participants in
the talks; however, the Accord was rejected in a national referendum. With regard to the Aboriginal provisions, concerns
over the content of self-government continued to be voiced. As well, not all members of the Aboriginal community had
approved of the negotiation process or the Accord itself.
The indigenous people conveyed their determination with the Oka-Kahnasetake crisis, less than three weeks later in
the summer of 1990. The Charlottetown Accord, which was rejected earlier, had a feature concerning the recognition of
inherent rights of aboriginal communities to govern themselves. The government wanted to examine the position in the
treatment of the original people and also wanted to integrate them completely to the society, and therefore in order to
serve this purpose the Royal commission on aboriginal peoples was established by the government in 1991. Various
factors like these recommendations, submissions from various provincial commissions and recommendation from aboriginal
peoples came together to work as a catalyst for the further discussion and meetings with all of Canadas first ministers. In
August 1992 consensus was reached, but unfortunately in a national referendum held in October 1992, this Charlottetown
Accord was defeated. It is not difficult concluded that if it was very pragmatic and difficult for the government to address
issues like hunting and fishing rights than the complication of inherent right of self-government is beyond imagination.
The persistent idea of ongoing time is that aborigines should take matters into their own hands.
The Territory of Nunavut
The creation of Nunavut in the United a free deserves special attention. Nunavut was established as a distinct territory
under its own government. The entire idea of the creation of Nunavut was based on the traditional land ownership and
use, as Inuit of eastern and central Arctic region understood that in order to control their own destiny. The largest native
land claims settlement in the history of Canada is The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, which was verified by Inuit in
November of 1992 and was signed by the Prime Minister of Canada on May 25 of the year 1993 and was processed in the
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Canadian Parliament in the June of the same year. This agreement establishes clear rules of ownership and control over
land and resources in the new territory (with an area of approximately 2,000,000 km, or 1/5 of Canadas landmass) in
order to provide title to the Nunavut Units of 350,000 km of land in Eastern Arctic.
Among the various modern-day treaties including Canada, the Nunavut land claims agreement is one of the most
innovative. It includes the following:
(a) Titus approximately 350,000 km of land, of which 35,250 km including mineral rights;
(b) Equal representation of Inuit with government and a new set of wild life management, resource management and
environmental boards
(c) The right to harvest wildlife and lands and waters throughout the Nunavut settlement area
(d) Capital transfer payments of $ 1.148 billion, able to Inuit over 14 years
(e) A $ 13 million training trust fund
(f) The share of federal government royalties for Nunavut Inuit from oil, gas and mineral development on Crown
lands
(g) Where inmate phone surface title to the land, the right to negotiate with industry for economic and social benefits
from non-renewable resource development
(h) The right of first refusal on sport and commercial development of renewable resources in the Nunavut settlement
area
(i) The creation of three new federally funded National Parks
(j) The inclusion of a political accord, that provides for establishment of the new territory of Nunavut and through
this form of self-government for the Nunavut Inuit.
The landmass which is managed by the new government covers approximately 20% of the entire Canada, with
powers equivalent to those of the Yukon and Northwest territories. The prime institutions of public government are an
elected legislative assembly, which has 19 MLAs, a cabinet and a territorial court.
There were nine members in the Nunavut implementation commission, over named by the government of Canada. It
is compulsory for six of these nine members to be residents of Nunavut. All parties were advised by the commission,
February 1999, on various matters like hunting in designing of training plans, the timetable for transferring services, and
the process for holding the first election for the government of Nunavut. The election marked the end of the initial
transition phase.
After the responsibility of the administration of programmes in various areas such as culture, public housing, and
healthcare which are to be completed by 2009, has been transferred by the government of the Northwest Territories to the
government of Nunavut, the Nunavut government has been slowly and gradually assuming all the responsibilities which
were formerly enjoyed an exercised by the government of the Northwest territories.
It has been decided that from the year 1993 in 2009 the government of Nunavut well be established in evolutionary
stages. In the year 1999 the first election for the government of Nunavut was held. With this election the initial transition
phase ended. The three distinct regions of which Nunavut is made are Qikiqtaaluk, Kivalliq and Kitikemeot. Apart from
these three regions it also has 28 immunities. The government of Nunavut is decentralized. Various government departments
and agencies in Nunavut are setup in communities throughout the territory.
The Federal government of Canada has also published Gathering Strength-Canadas Aboriginal Action Plan (1998)
along with an Agenda for Action with First Nation, as a consequence of the recommendation made by the Royal Commission
established in 1991. This agenda has been made by keeping in mind as its primary motive, the removal of a Federal
governments relationship with aboriginal peoples and also strengthening of aboriginal governments. The aboriginal
people have accepted a government-to-government relations programme which has been included in this. In order to
recognize the aboriginal self-government and in order to establish a framework for working out jurisdictional and
intergovernmental relations, the government of Canada has committed itself to develop new ways. The government of
Canada has also decided to develop A Governance Transition Centre in order to support aboriginals so that they can
develop a governance structures and simultaneously support capacity building in aboriginal communities. Apart from all
these the Canadian government has also decided to create different organizational structures in order to deal with justice
and disputed cases and also to become partners with aboriginal groups so that a strategy to deal with lands and resource
issues can be developed.
SECTION II
Q. 7. Describe the objectives and the ideology of the multiculturalism policy as adopted in Cnanda.
Ans. In the year 1971 the federal government of Canada introduced the policy of multiculturalism. It was expressed
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in the original statement of the policy that it aimed to give all the minority ethnic groups residing within Canadian
territory a sense of belonging to Canada so that a greater integration of Canadian society can be achieved. The main aim
of the policy was to guess every ethnic minority groups recognition of their identity in public or in other words the policy
was aiming to achieve identity incorporation. This policy provided the ethnic minority groups with an opportunity so that
they can reinforce their identity but strictly within the Canadian context. The idea was to make the mainstream recognize
and acknowledge the ethnic diversity as a part of Canadian identity. The Prime Minister of Canada in the Canadian
Parliament on October 1971 enunciated the basic principle of this policy as A policy of multicul-turalism within a
bilingual framework to commence itself to the government as the most suitable means of ensuring the cultural freedom of
Canadians. Such a policy should help to breakdown discriminatory attitudes and cultural jealousies. Nationality unity if it
is a means anything in the deeply personal sense must be founded on confidence in ones own individual identity, part of
this can grow respect for that of others and a willingness to share ideas, attitudes and assumptions. A vigourous policy of
multiculturalism will help to create this initial confidence. It could form the basis of a society which is based on a fair
play.
At a level of policy the idea of multiculturalism indicates towards a political framework which legitimises and justifies
various initiatives taken by the government in order to manage ethno racial diversity. The cultural diversity policy, during
the period of the Second World War, promoted a form of citizenship, which was first linked to the concept of patriotism
and then to the idea of a naturalisation. The focus of the policy was shifted during the mid-1950s towards the management
and maintenance of ethnic identities and communities. The idea was to encourage and promote the integration of different
ethnic groups within the Canadian society. i.e., logically the intention behind the policy was the promotion of integration
of different ethnic groups but in practice the policy meant to simulate the cultural diversity. During the seventh decade of
20th century the primary goal of the policy of multicultu-ralism was to ensure that All individuals have equal opportunities
to participate regardless of race or ethnic origin, that every possible assistance is provided to individuals and communities
in the elimination of any barrier to the equitable participation in society and that institutions in Canada be both respectful
and inclusive of Canadas multicultural character.
Over the Canadian citizenship act in 1947 coming into action, the framework for multiculturalism in Canada evolved.
This evolution of multiculturalism in Canada was also supported and helped by the passage of the Canadian Bill of Rights
in 1960, the acceptance of official languages act in 1969, and the enactment of the multicultural policy in 1971. The next
step taken by Canadian government in this regard was the creation of Canadian human rights commission in 1978. It was
not a unique concept in Canada as most of the provinces already had such organizations so that the complaints of
discrimination in private sector could be dealt. It was also to promote antidiscrimination education programme that these
organisations in many provinces were made. But still there were certain loopholes which were closed within a federal
jurisdiction by this new commission. Another stat came in the form of establishment of Canadian Charter of rights and
freedom in the Constitution Act of 1982. The Canadian Charter of rights and freedom offered constitutional protection
against discrimination by both provincial and federal governments. This protection against discrimination offered by the
Canadian Charter of rights and freedoms was in the equality rights clause. Visible minorities, women, people with disabilities
and aboriginal groups were designated by the Employment Equity Act in 1986 as the groups, which could be benefited
from affirmative action programmes. The benefit from affirmative action programs were in respect to hiring in the public
service. The act did not mandate any quota of minority, who were to be hired but still called for the efforts of reasonable
accommodation and equal representation of minorities in hiring. While applying the Act, it was highly dependent on the
participation of private companies. Various provinces also passed there wont legislation for equity. But this did not go
without complaints by those who were not included. The complaints were made about reverse discrimination. The lack of
specific goals and timetables in the legislation was pointed by some leaders as its negative aspects. Finally the
multiculturalism was it even stronger legal platform, by the Canadian Multiculturalism Act of 1988, which consolidated
the existing policies and into legislation, and by doing so it came up with a more detailed and explained policy statement
on the issue of multiculturalism. In the year 1991 the new Department of multiculturalism and citizenship was created by
the federal government of Canada.
Multiculturalism: The Objectives
Multiculturalism aimed at four major objectives, the level of policy. These four major objectives were:
(a) in order to support and promote cultural retention the assistance must be provided to cultural groups.
(b) the barriers which the member of cultural groups face towards full participation in the Canadian society must be
overcome.
(c) by the promotion of cultural exchange and interaction among Canadian cultural groups the national unity must
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be enhanced.
(d) the assistance must be provided to the members of cultural groups, specifically to those immigrants who are
trying to learn at least one official language of Canada.
In other words, one can say that the policy was structured on the idea that if the cultural identities of different ethnic
groups within the Canadian Society are supported, accompanied by exchange interaction among them, then the integration
of society as a cohesive whole will become much more easier. Special agency called the multicultural directorate was
established by the government in order to implement this policy. This agency develops four categories of programmes.
The programmes in the first category included the help and assistance given to different ethnic institutions like schools
and cultural centres so that they can go on to develop their own libraries and archives. The idea was to help them create
their own courses for language training, the creation of ethnic art and so on. Under this programme those grams were also
included which were provided to ethnic organisations such as youth associations and other umbrella organizations for the
development of leadership training and other organizational activities. The programmes in the second category included
the help and assistance provided the cultural groups so that they can sponsor ethnic dances, festivals, art exhibits and so
on. Perhaps, these have been the most visually appealing aspect of multi-culturalism. Eventually, other programmes were
also sponsored which included ethnic and inter-ethnic conferences, establishment of a different much multicultural centres
in various cities, assistance in the area of teaching of ethnic languages, immigration orientation and other citizenship
preparation programs. The programmes in the third category included help and assistance in the advertisement of antiracism
in media, subways, billboards and films. These programs aimed to create positive ideas in the public regarding different
racial groups. Many of these programs try to convince people and make them aware about the economic benefits of
cultural diversity. Programmes in the fourth category were the establishment of various multi-thematic ethnic national
institutions and also the inclusion of selected ethnic institutions into the mainstream structure. Some of the examples are
the Canadian ethnic studies Association and the Canadian Heritage languages Institute. The government of Canada
wanted to promote the study of ethnic diversity of Canada and therefore it created 30 ethnic cheers at different universities
across Canada. Various multicultural programs have sponsored a series of histories concerning the various ethnic groups
in Canada. In the same has been published by different major publishing houses in Canada. Another step was taken in this
regard by the government with the establishment of a multicultural television channel in Toronto.
The following features were included in the Canadian Multiculturalism Act of 1988:
(a) Recognize and promote the understanding that multiculturalism reflects the cultural and racial diversity of
Canadian society and acknow-ledges the freedom of all members of Canadian society to preserve, enhance and
share their cultural heritage.
(b) Recognize and promote the understanding that multiculturalism is a fundamental charac-teristic of the Canadian
heritage and identity and that it provides an invaluable resource in the shaping of Canadas future.
(c) Promote the full and equitable participation of individuals and communities of all origins in the continuing
evolution and shaping of all aspects of Canadian society and assist them in the elimination of any barrier to that
participation.
(d) Recognize the existence of communities whose members share a common origin and their historic contribution
to Canadian society, and enhance their development.
(e) Ensure that all individuals receive equal treatment and equal protection under the law, while respecting and
valuing their diversity.
(f) Encourage and assist the social, cultural, economic and political institutions of Canada to be both respectful and
inclusive of Canadas multicultural character.
(g) Promote the understanding and creativity that arise from the interaction between individuals and communities of
different origins.
(h) Foster the recognition and appreciation of the diverse cultures of Canadian society and promote the reflection
and the evolving expressions of those cultures.
(i) Preserve and enhance the use of languages other than English and French, while strengthening the status and use
of the official languages of Canada.
(j) Advance multiculturalism throughout Canada in harmony with the national commitment to the official languages
of Canada.
Multiculturalism: The Ideology
As far as the ideology of multiculturalism is concerned it includes a diverse set of ideas and ideals in defence of
importance of diversity. In other words it describes how Canada was composed both historically and currently, and
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prefers to the unique feature of Canadian society which is marked by cultural and racial diversity. It maintains that for the
development of Canadian society and identity to racial, cultural, religious and linguistic diversity is not only important
but also beneficial. Moddley, while examining multiculturalism critically, states that multiculturalism is a process of
extreme complexity is, which includes various notions of heritage, cultural diversity, the creation and entertainment
activities, cultural centres and an entire way of life. When the ideology of multiculturalism is expressed in the multicultural
policy of Canada, it stresses that is important to have a notion of managing diversity, promoting cultural heritage and
encouraging respect and appreciation for multicultural reality of Canada. The uniqueness of this ideology is that it
maintains the argument that for the enrichment and strengthening of nationality is important to have racial, cultural,
religious and linguistic diversity. The multicultural ideology also distinguishes Canada from the melting pot of United
States of America. One of the most positive aspects of this ideology is that it allows culturally different members of a
society to coexist together with a mutual respect towards each other and accommodate positively in the same society.
During the period between 1972 and 1990 the government of Canada very generously funded a variety of groups and
voluntary organizations, specifically select key national organizations. In the process of promoting ethnic identity and
social fragmentation and separateness of ethnic groups and communities were reflected in the governments action of
funding for programmes. Some of the things emphasised by the citizenship programnes are particular notion of identity,
participation and collective rights and equality in political discourse. In the establishment of a social justice infrastructure
inside the Canadian society, various multiculturalism practices and policies concerning immigration, citizenship, language
and human rights have helped a great deal. For example, in the year 1981 a race relations unit was established in order to
examine the major cities in Canada for race relations, in the year 1982 the symposium on race relations and the law was
established, in the year 1983 a national strategy on race relations was established, to improve race relations a civil
committees in Canadian municipalities was established, in the year 1986 municipal race relations programme was developed,
in the same year and employment Equity program was developed and implemented, various school boards across Canada
adopted race relations and multicultural educational policies, various initiatives were taken to examine relations between
police and minorities, in the year 1988 legislation of the multiculturalism Act was passed, and in the same year there was
a redress settlement of Japanese Canadians. To achieve confluence among immigration, citizenship, language and human
rights policies, the idea of multiculturalism and has been just an attempt by the government of Canada.
A shift has been noticed in the contents of multiculturalism over time. When for the first time the idea of multiculturalism
was introduced it aimed to celebrate the differences to make sure that the new Canadians are accepted well in the society.
But during 1980s the idea of multiculturalism was to focus on institutional accommodation and removal of various
barriers which were discriminatory in nature. By expanding the participatory principles of citizenship, today multiculturalism
has again shifted to accept and embrace a more inclusive Canada. One can say that multiculturalism is not just a concept
rather it is a combination of various ideas or at least it seems that it is linked with the various ideas like society, building
goals of cultural identity, social justice, citizenship, National Unity, societal integration and equality. It can be considered
as an official structure for an essential reconstruction of relationship between majority and minority of population within
the boundary of the nation, which makes the idea of living together with difference a better experience.
There are two desirable outcomes, and the idea of multiculturalism in Canada. The first desirable outcome of the idea
of multiculturalism in Canada is to ensure the survival of different ethnic groups and their cultures in the Canadian society
and to make sure that the rest of the population of the nation maintains a good tolerance towards this diversity and also
there should be any prejudice towards ethnic minorities. And to make sure that these things happen is important to know
the situation in which the ethnic identity in Canada exist and also the attitudes of people towards the ethnic groups. In the
year 1991 a national survey was conducted. In this weight was revealed that those Canadians who belong to the ethnic
groups or ethnic minorities identify themselves as strongly as Canadians felt in the identifying themselves with their
ethnic origin. The survey was also found that most of the Canadians take pride in their tolerance towards the ethnic group
and also being prejudice free towards the population of ethnic minorities. The results of this survey concluded that if one
were to rate the comfort zone of the ethnic minorities and an immigrant groups in Canada then the rating would be quite
high. But it was also reported that people belonging to the visible minority groups especially from Indian subcontinent
and Arabs did not feel very comfortable. In order to open up economic, social and cultural channels the idea of
multiculturalism has been employed by the minorities as a tool. In order to combat or fight back the discrimination in the
various areas of employment, education, housing and criminal justice many minorities groups rely on the idea of
multiculturalism. This idea gives the minorities, a sort of moral support and also makes them legitimate contenders in the
struggle for power.
Q. 8. Define Human Security and analyse Canadas integrated approach to development.
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Ans. Defining Human Security: The revolutionary idea behind human security was the reconceptualization of
security in the sense that the referent object that is the object to be protected should shift from the state to the
individual. In doing so, humans should become protected from physical violence freedom from fear as well empowered to provide for their basic human needs freedom from want. The Commission on Human Security (CHS) defines
human security as the protection of the vital core of all human lives in ways that enhance human freedoms and fulfillment. Human security means protecting fundamental freedoms. It means protecting people from critical and pervasive
threats and situations. It means using processes that build on peoples strengths and aspirations. It means creating political, social, environmental, economic, military and cultural systems that, when combined, give people the building blocks
for survival, livelihood and dignity. Human security is far more than the absence of violent conflict. It encompasses
human rights, good governance and access to economic opportunity, education and health care. It is a concept that
comprehensively addresses both freedom from fear and freedom from want.
Individuals are significantly the key sufferers, objectives and equipment of contemporary war. The pressured exodus,
the dreadful violence, the state-sponsored killings and disappearances perpetrated against a large number of not guilty
individuals all of this emphasizes the fact that in the community, normal individuals experience the most from chaotic
issue.
It is a situation with which normal individuals from Sierra Leone to Sudan to main African-American to Angola are
all too acquainted. Deaths from equipped issue have bending in just the past 10 years. About one thousand individuals
lose their life each year. And whereas during the First World War only 5% of casualties were normal individuals, these
days that determine is nearer to 80%.
Ordinary people are paying the biggest price, from the growth of intrastate issue and from unsuccessful declares.
They endure the impact of the new methods of war for example, the deplorable use of kid defense force or savage
paramilitaries. And they experience most from the affordable yet all-too-readily-available weaponry of contemporary
war, such as landmines and army small hands and light weaponry. As reverend Axworthy said lately, private deaths and
huge displacement are no longer simple by-products of todays current circumstances, but often precise in the technique
of combatants.
Threats to personal protection are not restricted to circumstances of chaotic issue. For all its guarantee, globalization
has also proven a darkish feet. Transnational phenomena terrorism, unlawful medication and criminal offense, ecological
deterioration and catching condition, financial and financial uncertainty put all of us at danger. Indeed, they have
already triggered remarkable struggling, especially for the most prone.
Instantaneous devices, fast transport, significantly permeable region, and increasing business, social and educational
connections have undoubtedly and unalterably joined all life into a common success. In this world, protection or uncertainty
of others has become very much their own protection or uncertainty. Consequently, we have both a liability and an interest
to act when the protection of others is imperiled. Canadas human security agenda is an attempt to react to these new
international facts.
An Integrated National Approach To Developemnt
There are many actors and instruments involved in the Canadian overall development cooperation. And the development
cooperation requires from the countrys capacity a bit more than the field of aid.
There have many significant steps for the use of non-aid instruments in order to help the development cooperation
goals by Canada. Some of the examples are provision of debt relief, lowering of tariff to improve developing nation
access to Canadian market and the Jean Chretien Peidge to Africa Act, with the intention to help developing nations fight
against HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases by letting them have access to affordable medicines.
For the development assistance there is the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). For the support of
research capacities there is the International Development Research Center (IDRC). But the idea of overall development
goes far beyond these two institutions. Department of finance of Canada manages governments spending on international
assistance, which is also helped by Foreign Affairs Canada.
It seems that the government of Canada is determined to make the country a leading-edge development cooperation
partner. The targetted areas are quality, focus and strength of their efforts. An in order to do so government is committed to:
(a) Completely integrate development cooperation into Canadas international policy.
(b) Make sure that there is a sense of coherence across aid and non-aid policies that impact development.
(c) Maintain a balance both within and among aid delivery channels.
(d) Focus more on those multilateral channels which are ought to make effective differences in promoting global
governance and addressing MDGs.
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(e) Make sure and strengthens the engagement of Canadians and civil society as partners in development.
(f) Make the development cooperation delivery effective with the help of leading edge development cooperation agency.
Some of the guiding principles which work as the foundation of above strategy are:
(a) The aid-effective principles of local ownership, improved donor coordination and a result-based approach.
(b) Canadas commitment of effective multilateralism to form a basis for effective global engagement on important
issues.
(c) Governments commitment to effective partnership which not only does not underestimate the value and role
played by civil society and private sector in developing country and in Canada itself.
(d) Coherence among governments both aid and non-aid policies and action, which have the intention to reduce the
global poverty substantially.
Q. 9. What do you understand Liberal Internationalism? Briefly explain the salient aspects of Canadian
liberal internationalist middle-powermanship.
Ans. What does it mean, when we say that Canada is a liberal internationalist middle power? The essence of Canadian middle powermanship can only be understood in terms of Canadian liberal internationalism. The functional middle
power is a liberal internationalist middle power, which promotes the idea of good international citizenship. In broad terms
the Canadian liberal internationalism can be understood under four categories which are: support of multilateralism,
peace-keeping, mediation between North and South and, to an extent between East and West in the year of cold war and
finally a rule based trading system.
(a) Multilateralism is a term in international relations that refers to multiple countries working in concert on a given
issue. International organizations, such as the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organization are multilateral in
nature. The main proponents of multilateralism have traditionally been the middle powers such as Canada, Australia,
Switzerland, the Benelux countries and the Nordic countries. Larger states often act unilaterally, while the smaller ones
may have little direct power at all in international affairs aside from participation in the United Nations (by consolidating
their UN vote in a voting bloc with other nations, for example). Multilatera-lism may involve multiple nations acting
together as in the UN or may involve regional or military alliances, pacts, or groupings such as NATO.
(b) Canada has been involved in international peace-keeping as a result of its liberal internationalist idea. During the
first half of the 20th century, more than 1.5 million Canadians were called upon to defend international peace and freedom
in the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War. More than 110,000 Canadians lost their lives. Following these
terrible conflicts, country began looking for ways to prevent war. Peace-keeping and other peace support efforts are a
natural extension of Canadas longstanding commitment to the principles of peace and freedom. Following the Second
World War, Canada was involved in military observer missions in the late 1940s, particularly during the Arab-Israeli and
the India-Pakistan conflicts. However, it wasnt until 1956 that the term peace-keeping entered the popular vocabulary
thanks to a Canadian.
(c) Canadian liberal internationalism also meant that Canada must see itself as a mediator between developed north and
developing south. It worked as development assistance to bring the equality of relation between developed and developing
nations. As Canada was a member of NATO, it did not play any significant role as a mediator during the cold war.
(d) Canada is export-dependent economy, which means that it promoted international free trade on an orderly rulebased international trading system.
Grotian Perspective
With its liberal internationalist perspective, Canada being the middle power questioned the realist assumption that
power should be the sole basis of international relation. In other words liberal internationalism is quite contrary to the
realist perspective regarding the role of power in international relations. Canada, while talking about international relation
replaced the idea of power with Grotian perspective. The Grotian perspective suggests that while inter-state system bases
itself of on the narrowly perceived national interest, it also should have minimum commitment on the part of every sovereign
state in maintaining international order. During the period of cold war, this perspective helped Canada to champion all
multilateral to promote security and peace and development in the third world nations. The promotion of Grotian perspective
was an effort to minimize, if not resolve, the tension between the Realism of bi-polar politics and the ethics of liberal
internationalism. One of the most important aspects of liberal internationalism is that it tries to promote and advocate for
ethical norms on the part of the state. This perspective argues that as mutual cooperation is very important in case of
individuals, it is also very important characteristic of sovereign state. According to Canada, all the norms and international
laws which encourage mutuality and cooperation among the states, evolved over decades must be strengthened. One important
difference between realism and liberal internationalism is that while former allows the competition between the states for
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their specific interests and goals, while the later advocates cooperation and interdependence. Canada, the self-proclaimed
middle power, hold the view that the international relation works on the principle of inter-dependency and the consequences
of disrupting this basis or principle would be sever, especially for those who consider themselves powerful and developed
states.
Aspects of Liberal Internationalist Foreign Policy
There have many challenges in Canadian pursuit of middle power liberal internationalism. As the task was not easy,
many limitations and drawbacks hindered the nations pursuit of liberal internationalism. The major complicating factor
in Canadas pursuit of liberal internationalism came in the face of cold war between two super powers of the world during
1950s and 1960s. UN collective security system has been compromised in various occasions, since the beginning of the
Korean War. For many unilateral actions against the other countries, the UN Security Council resolution became the
fundamental basis.
During the period of cold war Canada had intended to focus upon plans to bring unilateral tendencies of the two
superpowers under close scrutiny. During much of this terrible period in world history Canadas attempt was to maintain
peace and security and to prevent the superpowers from taking a unilateral approach, especially United States of America.
Considering Canadas involvement in economic and trade relationship with America, one can say that the task for Canada
was extremely difficult. Apart from this the difficulty seems to heighten when we consider Canadas defence and security
ties with US. A bit of dualistic attitude can be seen on part of Canada here. While claiming itself, as the main proponent
of liberal internationalism, Canada also maintained its special relationship with America. Apart from the above mentioned
relationship Canada was also integrated into US plan for continental defence in the early period of 1940s, during the
Ogdensburg agreement. The result of the continental geo-strategic considerations was obvious. Canada had to establish
bilateral North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) with US in 1958, and later the Defence Production
Sharing Agreement (DPSA). The later agreement had given US an access to strategic development and resource of
Canada. Keeping all this in mind, one say without any exaggeration, that Canadian pursuit of middle power liberal
internationalism has seen various challenges and hindrances. At the level of NATO too, Canada had to work hard to keep
the dimension multilateral by preventing US from dominating it.
There was a steep elevation in such problems, the reason was simple. After the end of cold war, US did not pay much
heed to the intervention of UN and quite often bypassed it. US also used Security Council to force its decision to sanction
and intervene against various nations.
With the idea of middle power liberal inter-nationalism Canada assumed a role of a sort of reformer in international
system. From this perspective we cannot consider Canada as much of a critic of international politics, rather a problem
solver. Canada has faced many difficulties in working towards international politics and at the same time keeping its
multilateral objective. Indeed Canada has spent lots of effort and energy in this. Despite of various problems and conflicts
Canadas attitude in international problems has been more of practical nature rather than intellectual and theoretical. Here
it becomes important to understand the differences between liberal internationalism and the Non-Aligned movement.
Ideas like multilateralism, peace-keeping, cooperation and inter-dependence have been shared by both liberal
internationalism and Non-Aligned movement. Both the approaches were kind of similar but developed from different
source. It was this concept which laid the foundation of strong Indo-Canadian relationship in 1950s and 1960s. However,
the similarities between the two ideas ended after this period. Canada never appreciated and approved the Non-Aligned
countries. The reasons were apparent. Canada was a partner of western allies and therefore saw Non-Aligned movement
as a something between democracy and communism, and therefore unethical. Here, one must keep in mind that Canada
has been a proponent of liberal internationalism while being a member of NATO. The result of this attachment was a
limitation in Canadas approach towards liberal internationalism. This limitation was not, however appreciated by the
Non-Aligned countries like India.
Another important point to know is that while promoting its liberal internationalism, Canada has adopted the means
of quite diplomacy. Canada has always chosen to be in background, to work behind the curtain. Canadas main approach
towards any problem in international politics was to work out compromise formula, and bring out factual and technical
details to convince the warring country to appreciate Canadian perspective. The actions involved in being a liberal
internationalist require and demands a lot of attention and resources. All the aspects like mediation, peace keeping,
consensus-building and strengthening the norms of multilateral functioning demanded a lot of Canadian resources. For
example, Canada presented highly technical data for the conference on laws of sea. Such a thing was not possible for
many coastal developing countries and the result was that they came forward in support of these countries. The reason
that Canada can choose to adopt quite diplomacy is that it has all the reputation, skills and resources to continue with
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long and extended negotiation, while staying behind the scene to initiate a compromise on contentious issues.
Confined approach is what Canada has maintained in its activities concerning mediation and quite diplomacy.
The nation has always displayed its awareness to maintain a balance between capability and commitment. Canada realized
that in order to maintain its reputation in the international politics a middle power it was important that it should not go
beyond what is available within grasp. In other words it must not cross the boundaries. The basic idea is to use to
resources to back its commitment. Or not commit more than what resources would allow. This practice of Canada has
enabled the nation to keep its idea of liberal internationalism within the practicable dimensions.
Like everything else, liberal internationalism also has some negative aspects, which are the result of the fact that the
great powers of the world have always tried to intervene in international politics, thus making it based on the structural
power politics. There is no doubt that the middle power like Canada lacks the military and economic power, when
compared to great powers like US. Therefore, because of this lack, Canada cannot go ahead and right every wrong which
has been done in the world especially when the great powers are using their resources and power in an arbitrary way. It
has been seen that in case of armed conflict and military invasion, liberal internationalism of Canada shows extreme
helplessness and limitation. There are times when the domestic interest of the country has taken priority over the liberal
internationalist attitude of the nation. For example in China, Canada overlooked the violation of human rights in order to
serve the economic and commercial interest in China.
One must not think that when a great power is out there in open, determined to use its military power, the middle
power like Canada always become helpless. There are times and occasions when Canada has risen above with its middle
powermanship. One such occasion was 1962 Cuban missile crisis. The John Diefenbaker government had broken openly
with US on the question of the crisis. Another occasion was when the liberal government of Lester Pearson fully underwrote
US Vietnam policy. But at the same time worked behind the curtain prevent US from searching a military solution to the
problem in Vietnam. But this time Canadian quite diplomacy did not work, but instead of taking a back seat, Pearson
went open in his criticism of US policy and suggested that had there been a pause in bombing, Hanoi might have responded
in more flexible way.
Canada has managed to remain engaged in international affairs through its middle power liberal internationalist
approach. At least unlike other self-proclaimed middle powers, Brazil and Denmark, Canada has not faced prolonged
marginalization in international politics.
Various domestic political complexions and narrow focus on trade matters have constrained Canadas middle
powermanship, which is not the case in countries like Germany and Japan. Trudeau government acknowledged openly
the limitation of middle power diplomacy, which was becoming more limited in rapidly changing domestic and international
circumstance of 1970s. To escape from this, the Trudeau government decided to deviate from liberal internationalism,
and base their policy on what they called national interest. But at the same the Trudeau government failed to define and
categorize what they termed as national interest. Trudeau government also developed critical attitude towards Canadas
involvement in NATO, and expressed its desire to maintain equi-distance from both the super powers of the world.
Trudeau government, when was about to finish its term, made an attempt to finish the cold war, civilizing East-West
dialogue and favoured nuclear arms control and universal disarmament. All the initiative taken by Trudeau government
failed to produce any tangible benefit for Canada. Therefore, Trudeau government had to come back to the policy of
liberal internationalism at the end.
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